BJP mum on Modi campaigning in Bihar

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday remained non-committal on the issue of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi campaigning in the Bihar elections, indicating that it would take a call on the issue when the polls are nearer.

"Why are you so keen about campaign details? That will be known to you at an appropriate time. We are now in the process of selection of candidates," senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu told reporters when asked about it.

He maintained that campaign issues would be taken up "when the question of elections comes. (The) party will decide who will campaign".

"Who is there, who is not there, that will be seen and known," Naidu said.

Favouring continuation of the 'old arrangement' during the Bihar assembly polls, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has left it to the BJP to decide whether Modi will campaign for the party during elections.

"The BJP has to solve this. We are in favour of the old arrangement," Kumar had said, referring to the Janata Dal – United objecting to Modi's presence during the Lok Sabha poll campaign last year.

Kumar had indicated that the BJP would concede to the demand of the JD-U to keep Modi away from Bihar.

Naidu also sought to make light of the tours of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in different parts of the country to strengthen the party and said the Congress would suffer the 'biggest setback' in the Bihar polls.

Blaming the Congress for the situation in Kashmir, he said, "Proper action was not taken at an appropriate time. They allowed things to go to this level."

He said the BJP was keen to see that normalcy returned in the valley. On the Ayodhya issue, he said the BJP's stand was clear.

"People of the country want a grand Ram temple at the birthplace of Ram. But the issue is in the court. The court is giving its final verdict (on September 24)," he said.

Naidu said the party would express its reaction only after the verdict was out. "Building the Ram temple is the wish of the people of this country and it's also our wish," he said.

Asked if the BJP would accept the verdict, he said the verdict 'is equal' for everybody and binding on all. "Everybody has to accept it," he added.